The Past: Climate Trends

In Scotland, we have access to a long record of
observational climate data collected by the scientific community. It is
important that we use this to understand what has already happened to our
climate. This provides a valuable context for climate change, allowing us to
establish a baseline to compare future changes, validate climate models, and
begin to examine impacts already occurring.

The last century has been a period of rapid climate change
across Scotland. In particular, records show that over the last few decades:
temperatures have increased - with the last decade the warmest ever recorded;
rainfall patterns have changed - with increased rainfall and more heavy
downpours; sea-level is rise is accelerating; and there have been fewer days
with frost and snow cover.

Scotland’s Environment Web: Scotland's Climate Trends Handbook

Scotland’s
Climate Trends Handbook complies and analyses observed climate data across
Scotland from 1914 to 2011. It covers a range of climate variables, includes
maps and graphs, highlights key findings, and a statistical analysis on the
significance of trends.

The handbook is complimented by the Climate
Trends for Scotland tool that allows users to explore and visualise the
full climate trends dataset. This includes a range variables and averaging
periods, for locations from 5km grid square, postcode districts, local
authorities to entire Scotland.

Met Office: State of the UK Climate Report

The State of the UK Climate report is an annual publication
which provides an accessible, authoritative and up-to-date assessment of UK
climate trends, variations and extremes based on the latest available climate
quality observational datasets. It is an update to the UKCP09 report on The
Climate of the United Kingdom and Recent Trends.

Met Office: UK Climate

The Met Office holds the weather and climate records for the
United Kingdom. It has an extensive UK Climate section on its website,
including a range of summaries, maps and figures. Of particular interest are: